It's been almost three weeks since Gov. Gretchen Whitmer decided all Michigan schools had to close in an effort to help limit the spread of COVID-19.
Many schools quickly pivoted, employing a form of "Distance Learning" to help their students stay engaged and advance their learning during this uncertain time.
One elementary school in Holland came up with a plan that's not only keeping the curriculum intact through the remainder of the school year, it's also connecting the students with their teachers and administrators more than ever, despite the reality that they have to remain apart.
"We had no professional development, no guidelines, no norms," said Miska Rynsburger, referring her school's immediate reaction to the sudden closure. "We just had to move quickly."
Rynsburger, who is the principal at South Side Christian Elementary School - part of Holland Christian Public Schools - launched Forest Kindergarten in the fall of 2018. It's an educational practice that's driven by nearly 100 percent nature immersion and, at the time, was the first of its kind in the state.
The school was more than halfway through its second year when the pandemic hit.
"School is about relationship, and in that relationship is where learning takes place," said Rynsburger. "There needs to be genuine trust and enjoyment between the teacher and students, and sometimes that requires novelty to motivate kids.
"We've taken novelty to new measures because learning now is also being taken to new measures."
Rynsburger, Forest Kindergarten teacher Ron Harig, and assistant teacher Jennifer Allen combined forces and came up with a plan.
"We decided to assign weekly homework which included both an academic piece and, since we're Forest School, something for them to do outside, too," said Harig. "We also wanted to help the parents motivate kids to do their homeschooling."
The weekly assignments are the same as they would've been had the students still been in school.
"If the kids complete all their homeschooling, they will be emailed a link to watch a special video every Saturday," said Harig.
The video is of the teachers or administrators doing an outrageous antic that the kids come up with.
The kindergartners get to come up with the ideas for their weekly rewards.
"The first week's challenge, they had to complete math and post a picture of themselves in a tree to our Forest Kindergarten Facebook page," said Harig. "They decided the reward would be seeing me jump into Holland Christian's pond."
All the students completed their work, so Harig delivered.
"I jumped into the pond while my wife videotaped me on her phone," said Harig. "I uploaded the clip to YouTube then emailed it to all of the students to view and enjoy.
The following week, the reward was for me to dump mud down the front of my shirt then on top of my head."
After that, Harig said the ideas for the weekly reward came pouring in.
"Another reward was that Mrs. Allen had to eat crickets," said Harig. "Another time, she had to climb 30 feet high in a tree."
"The crickets were unlike anything I've ever had," said Allen. "They were flavored, at least, so that took the edge off."
One student's idea is for Mr. Harig to pour honey on his hair, dump marshmallows on top, then put ten marshmallows in his mouth, and sing.
An idea proposed for principal Rynsburger is for her to "eat frog legs with mustard, and instead of using a fork, use feathers."
If the students all finish their homework this week, the rewards will be Mr. Harig swimming all four strokes in a stream, Mrs. Rynsburger kissing a frog, toad or worm and Mrs. Allen doing a mud bath.
"I'll kiss the frog, say my apologies, then let him go," joked Rynsburger. "I'm really game for almost anything, unless it involves a snake.
"We as educators are celebrating the learning that's taking place. We are committed to advancing the learning of students no matter what it takes."
Even if it involves kissing worms and eating frog legs with bird feathers.
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